Item of luggage or suitcase comprising means for retaining the contents of the item of luggage or suitcase

ABSTRACT

An item of luggage or suitcase includes a retainer to retain the contents of the item of luggage or suitcase. The retainer includes a removable retaining plate and a plurality of downwardly open hooks that are secured to the item of luggage or suitcase.

The invention relates to a piece of luggage or suitcase comprising meansfor retaining the contents of the piece of luggage or suitcase.

Documents EP 379 438 A1 and FR 2 711 044 A1, are describing a piece ofluggage provided with means for retaining the content of the piece ofluggage. The retaining means comprise straps, that are or are notelastic, intended for retaining the carried items. The strap ends may befixed to a wall of the suitcase by an anchoring device or by means ofloops

The documents FR 2 860 650 A1 and WO 2011/139 318 A1, describe pieces ofluggage or suitcases comprising a partition wall dividing their internalvolume and comprising anchoring means on the wall opposite to the jointof the partition wall.

Other devices comprise partition plates fixed by snap fasteners or bystraps to a wall of the suitcase.

Documents GB 2.489.832 A1 and EP 1.712 149 A1, describe a piece ofluggage comprising snap fasteners, VELCRO® fasteners or peripheralzippers that do not enable a height adjustment, nor an effectiveretaining of the contents under a light compression.

Documents EP 0.375.925 A1 and CN 201.267.257, describe a piece ofluggage comprising fully opened grooves forming slideways or means thatdo not enable a height adjustment, nor an effective retaining of thecontents under a light compression.

The aim of the invention is to propose a new piece of luggage with aneffective retaining of the contents of suitcase while traveling, withoutwrinkling the contents, not requiring an adjustment by means of a strap.

Another aim of the invention is to hold effectively the suitcasecontents, without wrinkling it, while providing a height adjustment andslightly compressing the contents so as to secure its retaining.

Another aim of the invention is to use a retaining means, adjustable inheight and removable, enabling an easy access to the contents of thepiece of luggage.

The invention concerns a piece of luggage or suitcase comprising meansfor retaining the contents of the piece luggage or of the suitcase,characterized in that the retaining means comprise, in combination, aretaining removable plate to effectively hold the contents of thesuitcase with a large contact face and a plurality of hooks openeddownwards and attached to the piece of luggage or to the suitcase, toengage the removable plate by pushing the aforementioned removableretaining plate downwards, then by letting it move upwards to allow itscatching by the hooks, adapted for the height adjustment required forretaining the contents of the suitcase.

According to embodiments of the invention:

-   -   The removable retaining plate comprises a peripheral frame        cooperating with the hooks opened downwards.    -   The plurality of hooks attached to the piece of luggage is        advantageously divided into several sets, each set forming a        retaining rack comprising several downwards opened hooks.    -   Each retaining rack is advantageously fixed on a sidewall of the        piece of luggage or of the suitcase.    -   The hooks may exhibit an opening that widens from bottom to top.    -   The bottom part of the opening is preferably slightly narrower        than the diameter of the frame entering in the hooks.    -   The top part of the opening is preferably slightly wider than        the diameter of the frame entering in the hooks.    -   The piece of luggage may comprise pairs of racks, fixed on        opposite on sidewalls of the piece of luggage.    -   The peripheral frame may be advantageously connected to a        flexible central portion.    -   The flexible central portion may advantageously bear pockets    -   The piece of luggage may comprise four racks, each comprising at        least two downwards opened hooks.

The invention will be better understood considering the followingdescription given as a nonrestrictive example, and in reference to theannexed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 schematically represents a first embodiment of a rack withseveral hooks according to the invention.

FIG. 2 schematically represents a second embodiment of a rack withseveral hooks according to the invention.

FIG. 3 schematically represents a perspective view of a rack withseveral hooks according to the invention.

FIG. 4 schematically represents a partial view in perspective of a hookaccording to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 schematically represents a perspective view of a first embodimentof the removable retaining plate according to the invention.

FIG. 6 schematically represents a second embodiment of the removableretaining plate according to the invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, identical elements or functionallyequivalents are referred by identical reference numbers.

The invention makes it possible to effectively hold the contents of asuitcase, with a large contact area, without requiring further handlingthan pushing the removable plate downwards and letting it move upwardsto hook in the retaining downwards opened hooks.

Preferably, the plurality of hooks is split in retaining racks, eachcomprising several downwards opened hooks.

Each retaining rack may be fixed on a sidewall of the piece of luggage.

The retaining racks are preferably fixed in opposing pairs on sidewallsof the piece of luggage. A particularly advantageous embodiment consistsin the fixing of four racks, each one comprising at least four hooks, onthe sidewalls of the piece of luggage.

On FIG. 1, according to a first embodiment, a rack comprising severalhooks intended to be fixed on a sidewall of a piece of luggage having arounded bottom, comprises a curved rail (1) integral with seven hooks(2) opened downwards and adapted to receive a cord or a stem of suitableshape constituting the frame of a removable retaining plate.

The frame may be separated from the central portion of the plate or maybe assembled in welt with openings at the intended locations of thehooks.

In the set shown on FIG. 1, the hooks are preferably delimited by aninside outline corresponding to the surface of the supporting rail (1)and by an outline narrowed towards the bottom, so that the hooks (2)exhibit an opening widening from bottom to top.

On FIG. 2, according to another embodiment, the rack comprising severalhooks according to the invention, comprises a support (1) intended to befixed on a sidewall of a suitcase (not shown). The support (1) mayexhibit a curved shape but may also be of any other shape withoutdeparting from the invention framework.

In this example, the hooks (2) attached to the support (1) exhibit ashape bended like a fishhook, that is more particularly dedicated to acord with an oval cross section which can be retained or engaged in thefishhook shape of the hook (2).

The set may comprise six hooks as shown on FIG. 2, but may comprise moreor less of these, without departing from the invention framework.

On FIG. 3, according to another embodiment of the invention, the rackwith several hooks comprises a support (1) provided with five hooks (2).In this example, the hooks (2) exhibit an inside outline following atrapezoidal prism enabling the interlocking of a flexible and slightlydeformable cord.

The number of hooks may also be changed, without departing from theinvention framework.

On FIG. 4, a hook (2) according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1)exhibit a narrower bottom opening, of width (d), allowing the forcedinsertion of a cord of the frame of the removable retaining plate,through a slight deformation in the opening of the hook (2).

The top part of the hook (2) exhibits a widened portion with a space (e)wider than the aforementioned width (d).

The diameter of the cord of the removable retaining plate consequentlylies between the width (d) and the aforementioned space (e).

Thus, when the cord of the frame of a removable retaining plate isengaged in the entry of the hook (2), the frame is maintained with playin the top part of the hook (2).

Thus, during the transportation of a piece of luggage or of a suitcase,the retaining cord is able to travel according to the play in the topportion of the hook (2), but cannot leave the lower end of the hook (2),because the width (d) is narrower than the diameter of the cord of theremovable retaining frame.

On FIG. 5, according to a first embodiment, the removable retainingplate of the invention is referred by the general reference 3. Theremovable retaining plate comprises a frame (4) made by a cord out ofmetal or out of glass fiber.

The cord of the frame (4) is connected by loops (5) to a centralportion, so that this central portion is held under a certain tension bythe frame formed by the cord (4). According to the shown example, thereare three loops (5) each side, which secure a satisfactory andrelatively even tension to provide a certain traction on the centralportion.

According to the shown setup, the central portion comprises channels (6a, 6 b) making a way for the holding tubes of a telescopic handle,generally laid out on the bottom of the suitcase, which makes itpossible to sustain the pockets delimited on both sides of the channels(6 a and 6 b) on the bottom of the suitcase when this one is nearlyempty.

According to the shown setup, four pockets are delimited by the channels(6 a, 6 b), i.e. two central pockets (6 c, 6 d) and two side pockets (6th, 6 f).

On FIG. 6, another embodiment of the removable retaining plate accordingto the invention also comprises a peripheral frame made up from a cord(4), loops (5) and a central portion (6). The central part may alsocomprise pockets or may be openwork, without departing from theinvention framework.

The loops (5) may be replaced by a welt, in such a case the centralportion (6) extends up to the frame delimited by the cord (4).Interruptions in the welt may be performed at the locations intended tocooperate with the hooks (2).

After having fixed the racks by their support (1) on sidewalls of thesuitcase, the retaining of the contents of the suitcase is carried outin a simple way, by pushing the removable retaining plate in contactwith the contents, until obtaining a light compression, then by lettingthe removable retaining plate move upwards to enable its catch by thehooks (2) and the interlocking of the cord (4) in the hook (2)corresponding to the height adjustment necessary to maintain thecontents of the bag.

The lay out makes it possible to slightly compress the contents of thesuitcase, so as to avoid any wrinkling and any damage of these contents.

Having a central portion comprising pockets also makes it possible toseparate certain item from the contents of the suitcase to attach themwith the removable plate and to use this removable plate as a displaypack or as a desk pad, after taking it out of the suitcase.

According to another embodiment, the removable retaining plate may alsocomprise additional grips to allow fixing of it on a clotheshanger oranother hanging means, so as to set up the pockets vertically for aneasier access.

The invention disclosed in reference to specific embodiments is by noway limited to them, but covers any modification of shape and anyalternative embodiment falling into the scope of the annexed claims.

Although the invention is described in reference to at least oneretaining rack (1) fixed on a sidewall of the piece of luggage, it alsocovers the embodiments comprising racks or hooks fixed on the top wallor “ceiling” of the suitcase and/or on the bottom wall or “floor” of thesuitcase, or either on or in the corners of the suitcase.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. A piece of luggage/suitcase comprising a retainerto retain contents of the piece luggage/suitcase, wherein the retainercomprises, in combination, a removable retaining plate to effectivelyhold the contents of the luggage/suitcase with a large contact face, anda plurality of hooks opened downwardly and attached to the piece ofluggage/suitcase, the removable retaining plate is configured to movedownwardly and then upwardly to engage the downwardly opened hooks, thedownwardly opened hooks are configured for an height adjustment toretain the contents of the luggage/suitcase.
 13. The piece ofluggage/suitcase according to claim 12, wherein the removable retainingplate comprises a peripheral frame cooperating with the downwardlyopened hooks.
 14. The piece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 12,wherein the plurality of hooks attached to the piece of luggage is splitinto sets, each set of downwardly open hooks forming a retaining rack.15. The piece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 14, wherein eachretaining rack is fixed on a sidewall of the piece of luggage/suitcase.16. The piece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 12, wherein eachdownwardly opened hook exhibits an opening that widens from its bottompart to its top part.
 17. The piece of luggage/suitcase according toclaim 13, wherein each downwardly opened hook exhibits an opening thatwidens from its bottom part to its top part, the bottom part of theopening is narrower than a diameter of the peripheral frame.
 18. Thepiece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 17, wherein the top part ofthe opening is wider than the diameter of the peripheral frame.
 19. Thepiece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 14, wherein the retainingracks are fixed on sidewalls of the luggage/suitcase in opposing pairs.20. The piece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 13, wherein theperipheral frame is connected to a flexible central portion of theremovable retaining plate.
 21. The piece of luggage/suitcase accordingto claim 20, wherein the flexible central portion comprises pockets. 22.The piece of luggage/suitcase according to claim 14, further comprisingfour retaining racks, each retaining rack comprising at least twodownwardly opened hooks.